


Warriors Redux: Amendment

by Dullard



Series: Warriors Redux [2]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 21:32:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17009595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dullard/pseuds/Dullard
Summary: The worldbuilding around the Warriors Redux universe.





	1. General, I

###  **Origins of the Clans**

_Thlain aushan li…*_

The events of this entry have been mythologized over time into an epic tale of gods who granted their blessings and magical immortals who shaped the earth just for the Clans, driving away huge enemies that hunted the poor, innocent cats down  _en masse_. The more accurate story is a little less romantic and much more brutal, which is why kits usually don’t hear it. 

Back before the territories were a reserve, animals from the surrounding areas flocked to the forest for hunting and feeding. At the time, the forest was much larger, encompassing everything beyond the two barns that mark WindClan and RiverClan’s borders and even into ShadowClan’s marshes. The area was big enough to accommodate different species who wanted to keep their distance from each other and not have to compete for resources. 

However, humans started cropping up closer and closer to the forest, and cut down trees to build their various structures in town. The forest was shrunk down to a mere fourth of what it had once been, with the hill and riverside turned into pastureland and a road carved through the edge of the woods. The forest was now much too small to hold everyone, and so the fighting began.

Groups of cats who were loosely affiliated teamed up to drive out the foxes, badgers and weasels. Against such a force, the other meat-eaters chose to head to quieter places rather than waste time fighting the feline swarms, and within a month the only animals residing in their cramped quarters were the cats. Still trying to recover their losses, and with their resources rapidly draining, they turned on each other. 

Some were chased out into the moors, past the river or into the marshes, but since the earth was still growing back or had nothing to offer, they either fled and split apart or advanced back upon the forest to reclaim their overlapping territories. All the while, the local prey was dying out from over-hunting, leaving the cats hungrier and hungrier by the day. It got bad enough that they resorted to eating their comrades who had died in battle or of starvation. The forest was a brutal, unforgiving place. 

Until, one day, an aging foreigner known only as the Crone arrived. 

Without warning, the molly took a significant portion of the cats and left for the hill. The cats of the forest watched from a distance as she whipped her group into shape, set a border, designed a rigorous hunting, scavenging and preserving program, and ruled over the moors with her followers. Within a few months, the first Clan was as powerful of a force as the untamed loners in the forest.

After a season of observation, a small team approached the moors and requested entry into the Clan. The Crone took them in, but sent them back out after a month of mentorship and instruction. The cats returned to the forest and announced a great gathering at the four trees that still stood near the hills. 

Underneath a full moon, the newly-mentored cats made an offer to the sea of cats below their rock: follow one of the speakers to the river and thrive under his rule, or stay in the forest and be led by the other speaker who would unite the individual families and drive out anyone who caused trouble. The cats who had suffered the most from the war left for the river that night, while those who were more attached to their home stayed in the woods. 

Time passed, and the groups eventually settled themselves, with a fourth one slowly growing in the marshes where the leader of the forest cats had chased the undesirables away. The groups fought each other still, but with much more space in between the battles and with most problems being solved through conversation. As instructed by the Crone, the groups met once a month under a full moon to speak with each other and report their progress. 

It wasn’t until a few months in that they agreed to call themselves Clans. From there, the First Age began. 

 

*Countless seasons ago or a thousand seasons before, depending on the speaker. 

 

 

 

 

 

### A General History of the Clans

_Note: This entry is written specifically regarding the First Age and the origins, development and completion of what we know today as the Clan system. The Second, Third and Fourth Ages will be discussed in separate posts._

With the initial three groups established - one on the moorland, one by the river, and one in the remains of the forest - the time came to establish a proper society, complete with rules, negotiations and democracy This did not come easily to a community which had spent several years practicing cannibalism and solving problems with murder, but the Crone and her students were determined to see peace and prosperity within their lifetime, and so their work continued. 

While they were busy setting up the borders of their territories and discussing whether or not to have neutral grounds, the fourth student of the Crone, Rowena, gathered everyone who had been politely told to get out and left the river for the marshes. This fourth group was at first met with intense dislike, as it was comprised of undesirables and rogues, but the other three leaders vouched for Rowena’s peaceful nature, and since they were separated from everyone else by the road, the fuss slowly died down. 

A few months passed before the groups were officially named instead of being referenced as “his group” or “that group”. RiverClan, for example, went from “that clan by the river” to “the river Clan” to “RiverClan”. ThunderClan came to be associated with the road and the human lands it spread into behind the forest, and named themselves after the noise these two things produced, verbalized in the feline language as  _Rona_ , or “thunder/a loud noise”. WindClan was named similarly, after the breezes and drafts that were far more commonplace on their land thanks to the lack of trees. ShadowClan’s name went through two renditions -  _Hret_ , meaning essentially “an untrustworthy person”, and after the outrage wore off,  _Thet_ , meaning “to walk stealthily”, referencing the Clan’s nature of isolation and secrecy*. 

Rumors of a peaceful, reformed society spread after a time. Cats who had long since fled the forest returned with their families and requested (or demanded) entry back into their homes. Cats who hadn’t even heard of the going-ons of the forest before wandered in for a safe rest stop. The Clans were a constant revolving door of visitors, with some long-time members leaving and young loners staying on until they died. This system worked pretty well for a while.

Eventually, troubled brewed. Newcomers would recognize a face in the neighboring Clan and challenge them to grudge matches. Friends of their opponent stepped in to defend them and created new enemies. Bickering inside camp was commonplace. Cats would ignore their leader’s orders and take a small patrol to battle against their rivals. These petty squabbles escalated in intensity until one fateful evening, in which several young cats were killed in a fight with much older, much stronger loners that they had very little to do with.

This set off an immense reaction - queens across the territories demanded legislature to protect their kits and protested allowing in untrustworthy cats who were potentially willing to murder children. Rowena started a small counsel to set some laws in place, and to separate the young from the grown, Ripple came up with the two-part naming system**. Brawn’s future deputy designed a program to teach young cats how to defend themselves, which quickly spread through the territories and became the Clan standard. The Crone and Brawn, meanwhile, created and started enforcing laws meant to keep cats from petty squabbles, ushering in a brief era of peace and elaborating on the groundwork set by Rowena’s laws, which eventually developed into the modern day Code.

 

 

*Romanized as ShadowClan, since SneakClan or StealthClan don’t exactly fit the naming theme of the other three Clans. (Silent and stealthy like a shadow, get it?)

**Originally, cats were “kittens” until a year of age (where they would have a ceremony and get their second name). It took a few generations to reduce the cutoff to six months, after which the young and in-training were called “apprentices”, and the two ranks received placeholder suffixes to separate them.

 

 

 

 

 

### The Founders

As the four creators of the Clans as a system, these cats have been mythologized and altered over time. Some refer to them with the name of their Clan and the leader suffix -star (Windstar, Thunderstar, Riverstar, Shadowstar), some say they were spirits sent by Horoa to bring order to the forest, and others still believe they had magical powers. This post is solely concerned with the truth of who and what these four cats were - vices, virtues and all. Certain details have, of course, been lost over the course of history, but what is presented here is entirely accurate. 

 

 **THE CRONE -** _Founder of WindClan_

Physical descriptions of the Crone vary. Her true color has strangely disappeared from memory, and thanks to her almost never appearing before a seer, no one can make an accurate guess. What’s certain is that she was very thin and showing her age, her eyes constantly squinted and lit with annoyance.

Much about the Crone’s early life is unknown. She never spoke of herself and was easily irritated by nosy cats - all anyone can say is that she was impressively healthy and resourceful, especially for her age. Her motives and interests are equally mysterious. When asked why she created the Clans in the first place, her only response was a snort and a dry “I had a bet.” 

Like most elders, the Crone was cranky and prone to give her subordinates a piece of her mind over the most minor of inconveniences. She particularly disliked young, outspoken mollies, which put her into a lot of conflict with one of her apprentice leaders. However, her tactical skills and take-charge attitude were (and still are) admirable. She pushed her cats past their limits, beyond what they thought themselves capable of, and created legends with some stern words and a glare. 

 

 **BRAWN -** _Founder of ThunderClan_

A humongous patched tom, fluffy enough and strong enough to be compared to Horoa. Humans would see him as a deep red-brown tabby tom with a lot of white. His size was apparently notable enough to have never been replicated, even in the long years since his passing. He certainly set the standard for beauty in ThunderClan with his appearance. 

Being born within the forest and the only survivor of a litter of four, Brawn was dedicated to staying in his home and defending his family. His skills did not lie merely in fighting, but in overbearing his opponent with his sheer size. He earned hunting rights for his parents by lending his claws to whatever group would feed him. It is said that most turf wars would end as soon as the opposition saw him approach. 

While loud, imperious and a bit self-centered, he was unarguably charismatic, with a good sense of humor and the ability to laugh at himself (something impossible to find in those days). He easily collected a following of cats who appreciated his take-charge attitude. He took to leadership the quickest out of the three apprentices and very easily made friends - there are no recorded fights that he instigated or immediately responded to. 

 

 **RIPPLE -**   _Founder of RiverClan_

Ripple looked quite different from the standard RiverClan warrior today - his color, like the Crone’s, is unknown, but he can be assumed to be plain, or perhaps with the kittypet [“mask”](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F6%2F60%2FNeighbours_Siamese.jpg&t=YmM5MzJjMmE2YzZiZTM4YTIxNDhhNmExNTQyMzczNWRjMDVjMjAxOCxSWjJzVGVMdQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AOEzJgRHeiHlL4GWPQRRIqA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwarriorsredux.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F147033410220%2Fthe-founders&m=1) markings, since it is specifically mentioned that no cat has looked like him since. His frame more fit a WindClan cat, long and lanky, though he is still referred to as “uniquely handsome”.

Ripple apparently ventured in from a different place with a small group of eccentric strangers, and happened to stick around in the forest for reasons unknown. It is likely that his group was killed in a turf war and he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, lacking the skills to make it on his own. Oddly, he was the favored pupil of the Crone, who spent the most amount of time teaching him and told him to think outside of himself, which is where he developed the idea for deep-fishing. 

A pleasant, if eccentric cat, Ripple was the source for all of RiverClan’s strange habits. Fishing is the most minor example of this - he was particularly interested in what he referred to as “the arts”, bringing a sense of culture to his own group and their neighbors and taking it to an extreme for himself. Some of these have stayed on, such as poetic storytelling, but others like “songs” and a very strange set of movements he called “dancing” were unique to him alone. He would often blank out in the middle of a conversation to croon a verse about something totally unrelated. 

 

 **ROWENA -**   _Founder of ShadowClan_

Rowena is the most concretely described of the four. The smallest, she was a dark grey, almost black tabby with a line of bent, flattened fur around her neck. She is noted to be strikingly beautiful and had the features of a kittypet, rather than a feral cat. Her particularly gentle eyes and kind expression are mentioned constantly. 

A latecomer to the forest war, Rowena had only recently either been evicted from her human home or left for herself. Her complete lack of skill in any feral activities and overly soft heart led her into quite a lot of trouble, until she befriended Brawn and went with him to join the Crone. Despite constantly arguing with her about everything they could think of, Rowena eventually earned the Crone’s respect and blessing to make a Clan. Her first act was to collect the crippled, the sickly and the ostracized and form a Clan in the marshes. Her given reason was to keep them out of trouble with everyone else, but the likely cause was to avoid fighting her friends - especially Ripple, who she was closest to. 

Rowena was empathetic and loving, willing to give everyone a chance no matter what they had done in the past. This kindhearteness was much of a weakness as it was a strength - she had unconditional loyalty from her followers, who even considered her a messiah, but she was easily taken advantage of by the more scrupulous and caused her reputation to plummet for outsiders, who did not take kindly to the idea of murderers being allowed to walk free and lead happy lives without paying for their crimes. 


	2. General, II

### The Clan Calendar

Most wild animals do not live long enough to care about keeping track of time. As usual, the Clans stand out thanks to their extended lifespans and collective observation. Their calendar is loose and vague, as time matters very little to an animal that is primarily concerned with eating and not getting killed. After Gatherings were scheduled for every full moon, however, time gradually became a little more important.

 

**DAYS**

Time is marked visually by the position of the sun and moon - half, low, tilt and high are the words by which cats estimate their version of hours. Half is when the sun or moon is peeking over the horizon; Low is about a paw’s width from the horizon; Tilt is the range from Half to just before noon; and High (otherwise called noon or midnight) is when the sun or moon is at its highest, marking the middle of the day or night. Using these terms, a cat will not say “it took 4 hours”, but “it took from low-moon to tilt”. 

 

**MOONS**

Moons and half-moons are both recognized portions of time, but only moons are used commonly. Like with humans, a moon is about a month, chronicling the complete lunar cycle*. A half-moon is harder to gauge, since it’s usually used in the context of remembering a recent event, but stands at around 10-15 days. The cats may instead describe the shape of the moon during the event being discussed, using closed, open, and the various descriptors inbetween. 

 

**SEASONS**

Seasons are a larger chunk of time, and very hazily defined, bleeding into each other depending on the weather. Last year’s winter can be much shorter than this year’s, for example, if it was a little warmer or took longer to snow. A season being skipped over entirely is an omen of terrible things to come. 

The feline words for seasons refer to the conditions of the trees, roughly translatable to “leaf-bare” (winter/ _Shou_ ), “new-leaf” (spring/ _Aora_ ), “green-leaf” (summer/ _Hhen_ ), and “leaf-fall) (autumn/ _Kih_ ). There are a variety of other nicknames referring to things associated with these seasons which go in and out of popularity with the seasons themselves. 

 

 

*Incidentally, the sleeping nights (known to humans as a new moon) are considered unlucky, as this is the time when cats feel that the Leopard’s Eye is no longer on them and thus they are more inclined to break the law or act out on whatever desire they’ve been holding in for the month. The same psychological effect [can be seen in humans.](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scientificamerican.com%2Farticle%2Fhow-the-illusion-of-being-observed-can-make-you-better-person%2F&t=MmM0Nzg2Yjc4MWI3ZjFiZTI3ZGMyYmRmYmUxODA0OWY3ZjJiZGQ2OSxZUzl3bVBvUg%3D%3D&b=t%3AOEzJgRHeiHlL4GWPQRRIqA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwarriorsredux.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F149050963195%2Fthe-clan-calendar&m=1)

 

 

 

 

 

### The Four Directions

As a group of stationary settlements, the Clans are not as driven as other animals to memorize the way the stars move or know a compass by heart. Rather, they focus on scentmarks and lines in the sand that have been talked and fought over for generations beyond counting. The information here has been accumulated over a long period of casual observation and the occasional conversation between neighbors over what would be a shorter way to say “up towards WindClan’s border” or “a left at the road - no, no, face the other way,  _that_  left, towards ShadowClan’s land, there you go”. 

Like humans, the Clans follow a four-point compass - north, south, east and west, in our language - but there are some significant differences. 

 

 **North - Huriin** _(a combination of “huu”, wind, and “Suriin”, the Leopard_ ) **  
**

Considered the “best” direction due to being where the sun and moon rise. Commonly associated with holiness and mystery, as no warrior has ever traveled beyond the Mother and seen what lies there. It should be noted that, for the Clans, holiness and spirituality do not always equate with goodness. While the Clans appreciate the north for what it is, they are perfectly aware of the many hidden threats it may contain.

 

**East - Lonil** _(a plural of “lon”, more or less meaning “empty lands”)_ **  
**

The east shares connotations with curses and unhappiness strictly because of its inhabitants. The east is just as vague as the north, but to a more earthly degree - only ShadowClan knows what lies east, and they are not eager to share that information. The other Clans figure that if it was supernaturally dangerous, ShadowClan would be dead by now, and so they don’t ask. Stories of spirits filled with unhappiness tend to place the east as the ghost’s origin.

 

**West - Ishtep** _(best translated as “riverward” - “ish”, river, and “tep”, to walk)_ **  
**

The best explored location, associated with safety, good luck, beauty and, to the religious stiffs, hedonism. Being the lowest, clearest part of the territories means everyone can see beyond RiverClan’s borders, where the green pastures roll on for miles. Cats who leave the Clans will usually choose to go through to these hills - not because it’s particularly safer than the street or the woods, but it offers a sense of security, however false, that the new vagabond can cling to as they make their journey. 

 

**South - Aulmir** _(“Aul” meaning human, “Aulmir” meaning “human’s camp”)_ **  
**

Furthest away from the rising Eyes, the south is consistently portrayed as dangerous and forbidden. Countless strange cats and humans live here, and the clean forest is halted by stinking white fences and flat, grey roads. Nameless villains in nursery stories always come from the south, abandoning their hive of smoke and filth to chase down the heroic Clan cats. There is some weight to this superstition - dogs don’t come from anywhere except the south - but most of it is empty paranoia.

For now.

 

 

 

 

 

### The Numerical System

Even among the Clans, cats have a difficult time understanding the concept of numbers. They are unable to process numbers without them being attached to an item or animal (”three flowers” makes sense, “three” does not). Math is practically nonexistent, even among seers and leaders. For this reason, numbers are vaguely defined and rarely discussed.

 **Mi:**  One. Often associated with youth and weakness. To a warrior, one brings up the images of rogues, stray kittens, an oblivious mouse or bird, or an inexperienced apprentice. One is an unlucky, distrustful number - a superstitious Clan cat venturing out alone may carry a pebble or clover in their mouth to bump their number up. 

 **Maht:**  Two. The average number of littermates to survive to apprenticehood, a pair of friends or lovers, and a safe number away from one. Loners are actually more trusted if they have a partner with them and scouts tend to work together rather than alone.  Two is a safe, easy number, which makes cats unhappy to stray from it.

 **Nei:**  Three. On average, there are three queens in the nursery, who are all likely to have three kittens. Three is considered a derivative of nine, and so many superstitions, poems and stories feature three in some manner. Speak a phrase aloud three times to ward off Terror; poems are told in three stanzas; a character may preform three tricks or make three deals, and so on. 

 **Caen:**  Four, a number of earthly significance. Every cat can count this high, even kittens. Four is the number of a healthy litter, a hunting or border patrol, the amount of feet (and toes on those feet) a cat has, and the age just before a cat crosses into a senior warrior. Four is an important number for the cats - important enough that almost anything past it is dismissed or barely regarded. 

 **Bel:**  Five to eight. Past four is where numbers start to become hazy.  _Bel_  is an uncomfortable number because there is no proper word for the numbers under its umbrella definition. This “number” is associated with uncertainty, impulse battles, and lying, as cats can bluff that they have a large group without necessarily implying a truly huge number.  _Bel_  is skipped over entirely most of the time in favor of either four or nine*.

 **Sen:**  Nine, a number of spiritual significance. Nine is surprisingly easy for cats to count to - in fact, it’s the only time they use multiplication (separate a group into batches of three, see if there’s three of those, and you have nine). Nine is the age of an elder, who is close to joining StarClan; there are nine sections of the Code and nine common punishments when one breaks that Code; and it is believed that the most blessed of leaders and seers receive nine lives’ worth of memories. Nine is about as close to a holy number as one can get. 

 **Sot:**  Any number between ten and twenty. This is a pretty obscure number, to the point that most cats hardly know what it means. However, it  _is_  associated with planned battles and war, as parties of ten to twenty are the favored size for an attack. Unsurprisingly, ThunderClan is the one who uses this number the most.

 **Mirin:**  Approximately a Clan’s worth of something, or thirty to forty. There’s obviously no way to count this high, but as the warriors are accustomed to living in groups of this size, they can eyeball it and make a pretty accurate guess. The exact amount doesn’t matter over the visual given in a report to a leader or deputy. 

 **Thlain:**  A thousand, a million, infinity, or some other humongous, uncountable number. Something completely eldritch or terrifyingly foreign may be said to have a thousand somethings, or have lived a thousand years. Only one cat has had this number stapled onto her description, and that’s specifically due to her incomprehensibility. 

 

*Six is important in terms of age, as a kit is eligible to become an apprentice when they reach six moons, but only the queens keep track. For everyone else, the cat in question is usually estimated based on their appearance - it’s not entirely rare for a cat to be accidentally held back a bit because they look too young for six moons.

 

 

 

 

 

### The Naming System

Continuing their need to be special and Above Everyone Else, the Clans have invented a unique two-part naming system. Originally, names were one word, which turned into two after the Clans grew and prospered enough to have many different cats with the same name. Suffixes were given a little while after the kit grew old enough to develop their own special trait, but over time suffixes developed meanings of their own and started being given once the cat reached a year of age, or could be considered a warrior. 

 

**PREFIXES**

Prefixes are pretty straightforward - a cat is given a prefix based on what their colors or size resemble (a fox is a ginger color with white, so a Fox- cat is ginger with white). The colors of a cat at birth determine the list of prefixes that would fit them, which some being very specific about patterns and markings and others being more general. For example, a white kitten would have a set list of fitting names, such as Swan-, Ice-, or Lily-. and they couldn’t be named something for a brown kitten, like Dust- or Otter-. 

Prefixes can also mean multiple colors. For example, Cherry- can refer to a white cat (for the flowers), a red cat (for the fruit), or a tortoiseshell (for the bark). Some only mean one color, while others have lots of definitions that are defined by physical gestures. 

There are a few limits on what is an acceptable prefix. Nothing too poetic, vague, spiritual or referencing dead and dying things is allowed. Even with these rules, the list of prefixes is immense. For a complete list, see [here](http://ailuronymy.tumblr.com/prefixes). 

 

**SUFFIXES**

Suffixes are a little more limited than prefixes. There are 25 suffixes total, in comparison to the roughly 260 potential prefixes: -claw, -cloud, -ear, -eye, -face, -fang, -flower, -foot, -fur, -heart, -jaw, -kit, -leaf, -nose, -path, -paw, -pelt, -star, -step, -storm, -stream, -stripe, -tail, -throat, and -whisker.

There are two categories of suffixes - status, which includes -paw, -kit and -star, and warrior suffixes, which is everything else. The status suffixes are given automatically at certain points in a cat’s life to denote their rank. -kit and -paw are for young, growing cats who are not yet ready to receive a warrior’s name, and -star is for the leader of the Clan. 

A warrior suffix’s job is to state what is most notable about the cat in question, whether it be a skill, a personality trait, or their appearance. In most cases, skill suffixes take priority, with personality suffixes coming next, and appearance suffixes being last. These are just as much a celebration of the cat’s development into an adult as they are an acknowledgement of what makes a cat special. 

 

**RENAMES**

Occasionally, a warrior’s name will no longer fit them, such as a detrimental injury or crippled limb. In these cases, the warrior’s name will be changed entirely to acknowledge the situation the cat is facing - for example, a cat named Blackfur who loses the use of a foot would have their name changed to Deadfoot. 

To outsiders, this can be considered barbaric and cruel, but to the Clans, surviving a nearly fatal injury (or at the very least, having your activity curbed quite a bit) and continuing on with your life is amazing, and a testament to how tough the cat is. Cats are not required to change their names, but many do, seeing it as a badge of honor. Kits tend to get very wide-eyed meeting a cat named Half-face, anyway. 


	3. Mythology, I

Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of the territory’s immeasurably vast lore is that of the “big cats”, which reflect rather closely (if fantastically) to real-world species. The legends of what is referred to as simply “the Three” - a lion, a leopard, and a tiger - are particularly popular. A third to half of the stories told by elders either involve or mention these three legendary animals.

How knowledge of the big cats came to the Clans is lost to time. The most likely origin is from an exceptionally well-traveled loner who first told them during a temporary stay in one of the camps. Surprisingly, the creatures depicted in folklore bear a striking resemblance to their physical counterparts. Over time, of course, differences have emerged, but even in the third age, a human could easily connect the myth to the reality. 

These rather fantastical tales are subject to a great deal of rumors and misconceptions. Contrary to popular belief, almost none of the stories in the modern era contain more than one of each big cat. Only the oldest stories actually feature Clans of lions and leopards - though, curiously enough, communities of “smaller” big cats have been spoken of. These are extremely ancient stories, however, and almost too obsolete to find information on. 

Another rumor is that the big cats had warrior names. This, as any apprentice will tell you, is inherently untrue. Any creatures considered “godlike” in Clan culture are never named with the prefix-suffix system. Two-part nicknames are given occasionally, but they are simply nicknames and nothing more. 

Finally, these cats were not originally the ancestors of the Clans. This is popular enough that even some Clan cats believe it, but only the most modern stories (that is, second age onward) will have anything close to evolution or creation. The validity of these “just-so” tales are hotly debated over by elders.

The information collected on their individual posts is only what gets most consistently portrayed throughout the general stories. Certain aspects have been glossed over due to the sheer magnitude of differences in telling. 

 

 

 

 **HOROA**   _(Oroa as a prefix)_

The youngest of the trio, Horoa is huge and majestic, with brilliant golden fur and a mane around his neck either like or made of ash and smoke. His face is long and solemn, his right eye shining brightly enough that to look into it would blind any mortal - though, if the stories are to be believed, any facet of him can be considered blinding*. His left eyesocket is empty, since its inhabitant resides in the sky as the sun. His tail is long and thing, but with a dark fire at the end of it, which is said to strike the earth and burn the land when he is angry. 

Horoa is immensely powerful and very quick to show it off. Despite being a god, the Endless Watcher is depicted as acting like a young warrior, eager to prove himself and quick to anger… though, not as quick as he is to be fooled. Horoa is full of tricks that he’s stolen from someone else (usually Petalfall) after they were used on him. His desire to impress and prove himself often earns him a lot of mockery and shame in his earlier stories. More modern depictions of Horoa are wiser and hard to deceive, though no less eager to run headfirst into trouble (though he always gets back at his assailants). 

Do not take this as a detraction against his character. Horoa is warm and welcoming, and when a cat comes to him begging for help, he will not hesitate to assist them. He is the most involved with mortal affairs of the Three - if a seer is lucky enough to receive a vision of one of them, it will most likely be him. Horoa cares deeply for all life, particularly cats, hence his decision to keep his eye in the sky after its removal, warming the earth and keeping a constant vigilance on his charges. 

 

 

*”Blinding” is a catch-all phrase here. Most creatures must speak to him with their heads down, or he must allow his mane to cloud his entire body. There are a few tales of haughty cats facing his eye while they themselves are already blind. It makes no difference - Horoa’s eye is hot enough to burn up and shrivel their eyes anyways.

 

 

 

 **SURIIN**   _(Thurii as a prefix*)_

Suriin’s most mentioned trait is her spotted pelt, but the exact details of what her spots are composed of changes with every story. Sometimes they are dark rings of liquid floating just above her fur, surrounding a tiny light; sometimes they’re eyes that only open when Suriin wishes to see into a mortal’s soul; sometimes they’re just normal, if rather hypnotizing markings. This is in tandem with her entire appearance - her size, tail length, and build never stay the same. Even her coat color changes from white, to golden, to black depending on the story. The only consistency is her eerie white eyes, one of which is lodged safely in her left eyesocket and the other being hoisted into the night sky, serving as the moon. 

Suriin is as cold and distant as the faint light her eye produces. Despite having it focused on the territories, she lacks the focus of Horoa and closes the skyward sphere to sleep or turn her attention to other matters. She appears to have no real interest in mortal affairs - the tales where she gets involved depict her as bored and unimpressed with whatever nonsense Clan cats get up to, which usually works in the hero’s favor. Suriin’s approval is said to be impossible to win, and so, of course, there are a few similar characters that constantly try to earn her affection, only to be tricked into embarrassing themselves while Suriin takes a new shape and vanishes into the night. 

She is no less formidable for her lack of motivation. When driven to act, it is out of irritation, and she pays back transgressions tenfold. Suriin is responsible for the River Spirits’ crueler behavior and, according to some legends, a few of the monsters that haunt the territories. She has complete control of the weather, occasionally the river as well, and utilizes both for her own purposes (or to warn the seers that their Clan better knock that shit off). She is the one to send clouds over the moon if a Gathering is escalating into a fight. 

 

 

*Suriin’s name has also been shortened to S’iin for another prefix, meaning “spotted” or “notably patterned”. This is most commonly used by Clans who consider it disrespectful to name a kitten after one of the Three. Oddly, while Suriin is pronounced ‘soo-rihn’, its derivatives are not - Thurii is ‘thoo-ree’, and S’iin is said like ‘sign’. This is linked back to superstitions that mentioning her name too many times will incite a very grouchy response. 

 

 

 

 **ROKHAR**   _(Rukhon as a prefix)_  

The eldest, and most powerful, of the Three. Descriptions of him are unusually short and vague for the Clans - Rokhar’s pelt, if one can call it that, is the color of a sunset, interspersed with slashes of the night sky. He is massive, much larger than Horoa and Suriin, but the exact size has never been measured. There is no recorded description for his eyes. 

Where Horoa can be tricked by mortals, and Suriin annoyed by them, no one dares to approach the Eldest. Monsters, ghosts and spirits alike will flee if they sense his presence, and the other Two will immediately obey his will. Even the audacious Petalfall has never been foolish enough to pull any tricks on him. The only one who does not fear him is his eternal servant, Thlainra, who brings him news of the world from her many eyes. 

Rokhar rarely appears to anyone, and until he does, it is impossible to seek him out. Some say that he wanders far away, past the end of the world, while others believe that he blends in with the sky and sleeps. Whatever the case is, he does not show himself until the Clans are in grave danger… and to threaten the mortal world is to invite death upon yourself. Rokhar does not run, or roar, or fight. He merely moves, leaving the bones of the enemy behind him. 


	4. Mythology, II

### StarClan

_“May StarClan light your path.”_

The collective of the Clans’ ancestors, StarClan is an all-knowing and somewhat omnipotent group that sends visions to seers to warn them of future events or remind them of past incidences. The stars in the night sky are believed to be the souls of these long-dead cats, and it is said that the warriors of the First Age chose to be active during the night to honor them.

StarClan is sometimes referred to as the fifth Clan of the territories, which most find improper and inaccurate. StarClan lives in the sky and is a union of every living Clan, free of any desire and the pains of life. To call them the fifth Clan would also imply that they are alive and competing for territory and prey, which, as everyone knows, is ludicrous. The dead need nothing but the chance to be remembered by the living. 

Despite being incorporeal, StarClan has the ability to affect the world below them, and they use this ability to give seers signs of what to do or how to prepare for what will happen next. It is for this reason that seers need to pay such close attention to their environment - the stars may be subtle, bending a twig or leaving a moth’s wing on the ground, or they may send a strong breeze to knock a branch down. The more obvious their sign, the more important the message. 

The source of their omniscience is believed to come from the histories, wisdom and thoughts of the ghosts melding into one unified subconscious. Some theorize that the lack of a physical body allows souls to blend together, while others say one of the Three or perhaps the Mother granted them this power to protect their descendants. StarClan’s future vision, on the other hand, is readily agreed upon to be from Rokhar, as process of elimination names his vaguely defined powers as the culprit. The other Two’s more nature and life-based magic doesn’t mesh well with predicting future events. 

Exactly what StarClan’s walking grounds look like is unknown. There are no common descriptions or even guesses as to its appearance. Everyone has their own idea of what heaven is like, after all, and like most societies, arguing about religion will only lead to trouble. 

 

 

 

### Petalfall

_(Mernatha)*_

In every culture’s mythology, there is bound to be a trickster archetype who causes trouble for others and tends to land in trouble themselves; Coyote, Ananse, Kokopelli and Reynard are some of the more famous ones. Cats being cats, it would be impossible for them not to have at least one character of this type. 

Petalfall is the epitome of what it means to be a cat - tricky, sarcastic, smug, easily amused, and  _very_  curious. Petalfall’s one true desire in life is to mess with everyone and anyone at least once, and as shown by her many, many stories, she succeeds as often as she fails. Gods, spirits, eldritch monsters and even normal cats are subject to her innate instincts of hoodwinking. This sense of chicanery is so strong that it has pushed death away from her, granting her life until the end of the world. Or until she’s successfully pranked everyone, whichever comes first. 

But there is more to this cat than mere skulduggery. Her traits are highly valued in feline society, and combined with characteristics that the Clans value - selflessness, diligence and communication skills - Petalfall is a heroic character, often using her tricks to turn the tide in wars or prevent monsters and gods from destroying the Clans. Clan cats will often attribute kind winters and strokes of good luck to her. Though she doesn’t stay in one Clan, nor even show herself to anyone, she is nonetheless just as dedicated to ensuring the survival of her people as Horoa and the mortal Clans. 

Descriptions for Petalfall vary, but the most common one is of a beautiful white cat with many small, sparse markings of red and black in the shape of petals that move around as they please on her body. She is known for her ability to manipulate petals from trees to disguise her coming and going and to hide her scent from hunters. The wind blowing blooming flowers onto the ground is said to be a sign of her merriment at the current situation. 

The cat that Petalfall was based on is unknown, but most seers agree that she was originally from RiverClan and while being very pretty, was not particularly skilled in any area beyond playing tricks. These traits were exaggerated over time until they spawned a legendary figure, perhaps even transforming the original cat’s spirit into Petalfall. Her original name was likely much less poetic, as Petal- and -fall are not used in the current naming system, both for their vague nature and out of respect to the trickster. 

 

 

*Her name is actually a portmanteau/pun comprised of three words. “Mern” means amusement or merriment, while “Therna” means leaf or petals off of a tree, and “Ahah” is to fall from a noticeable height and land on your feet. Hence, Mernatha.

 

 

 

### Thlainra

_(The Thousand Eyes, Black Swarm, Crowmother, etc.*)_

A children’s scary story, an angel and a messenger all in one. Thlainra is a mysterious figure despite her common appearance in legends and moral tales - no one knows very much about her and few storytellers wish to tread on her toes by adding potentially false information in. Respected by the gods, feared by monsters, and heralded by her children wherever she goes, Thlainra is intelligent beyond feline comprehension. She is not to be questioned or harried, and everyone knows it. 

Thlainra is the caretaker and master of the world’s crows. She is always surrounded by them, seeing through their eyes to watch mortals and monsters alike. In some stories, she’s capable of turning into a swarm of them herself. As such, crows are seen as holy figures and are only hunted when food is scarce after a small ritual done by the seer. Their incredible intelligence is beyond a cat’s understanding, and they are said to get their minds from their mother and keeper. 

Descriptions of the crow-herder are much more consistent than most of the roster in Clan stories. Thlainra is a plain black cat with long fur around her neck and head. Her eyes are pitch-black, reflecting no light or expression, and her tail is either short with fanned-out feathers or stiff, long hair similar to tail-feathers. Some very old stories say that she has small, brightly colored eyes hidden all throughout her fur, but most modern tellings strike that out. 

She is never shown to move her feet or speak - one of the many crows following her will converse for her, perfectly mimicking the feline tongue. If she wants to go somewhere, she always disappears in a flurry of black wings and raucous calls, appearing at her destination almost immediately. 

Among the heroes, villains and monsters, Thlainra is a neutral character, having no particular stakes in whether people live or die. She is free to go where she likes and order others around as she pleases, but seems content to serve as Rokhar’s earthly eyes and messenger to mortals. Some nursery stories warn kittens that if they keep misbehaving, Thlainra’s crows will come down and pluck their eyes out. Whether or not Thlainra would actually do this to anyone except criminals is debatable, but it frightens kittens into using their manners and cautiously respecting any crows they stumble upon. 

 

 

*Thlainra literally translates to “thousand crow”. While it should be Thlainran/Thlainrain (”thousand crow **s** ”), cats tend to drop second pluralizations in most compound words or names. In this particular case for the English translation, the double pluralization messes up the rhythm of her name. 

 

 

 

### River Spirits

_(Ishlaun, Ishmet - Ishmein pluralized)_

Created after a bet between [Mernatha](http://warriorsredux.tumblr.com/post/146618418915/folklore-petalfall) and [Suriin](http://warriorsredux.tumblr.com/post/146544892880/the-three-leopard) went poorly, the Ishmein are a diverse, unique species within Clan mythology. Unlike mice or crows, no two spirits look alike, though all share a few common traits. Each river spirit is tangible yet translucent like the water they reside in, and can briefly guise themselves to bear the colors of the species their form takes after. Their calls sound much like the noise an amused human makes, and they always speak (when they can be bothered) through a trilling purr. And each only desires trickery and mischief, just like the cat their creator designed them after. 

However, where Petalfall is more benign about her jokes and still serves the Clans, the Ishmein live to amuse themselves and care nothing for the consequences of their actions. They are happy to let a cat drown themselves or be poisoned with bad fish, just so long as it’s funny. Cats who survive freak accidents often report hearing bubbling cackles from the water nearby. 

Each river spirit is unique, but there are three vaguely defined categories they can fit into that have been observed over time: 

  * The smallest spirits often appear in the shape of a mouse, a minnow, or a twitching, shiny object that a human has dropped. These ones are the most malicious, as their preferred targets are kits or very young apprentices. By dancing underwater or skittering about just near the shoreline, they lure the little cats into pouncing or wading after them. Once the cat trips or is swept away, the spirit vanishes into the deeper parts of the river, thoroughly pleased with itself.  
  * Medium sized spirits can be the size of a rabbit or a cat, but often look more like a fish or an otter. Said to be the most curious about the surface world that they cannot interact with, they attempt to call apprentices and young warriors to the shore for stories and gossip. A common luck ritual is for a cat to bring a leaf or flower to the water, whisper something about the land or its inhabitants into the plant, and then drop it into the river. If a spirit was nearby, the plant will sink into the water. The cat will later find a fat piece of prey or a beautiful trinket as thanks. Of course, that prey will often get away or the trinket will be mysteriously swept downstream. The spirits still need to amuse themselves, after all. 
  * The largest spirits range from badger-sized to a huge dog. These stand out by being able to briefly step out of the water (though only in foggy weather). Senior warriors most often sight the larger spirits, mistaking them for a monster or, perhaps, a legendary figure. The spirits prefer to scare cats by appearing as hulking as possible, but their kit-like purrs give them away. The shapes a warrior may see in the mist can be attributed to a bored spirit looking to make a cat cry out and flee in terror.



Stories about the Ishmein mostly show up in RiverClan, as they are the group that interacts with the water these spirits reside in. Curiously, ShadowClan is interested in their mythology, despite having only one stream on their territory. The most likely reason is that their origins concern one of the big cats - and the scorning of a popular trickster. 

 

 

 

### Thorn

_Clowsa, aka Claas (”Briar”)_

Fables and moral lessons are not restricted solely to humans. In every society with even a vague sense of right and wrong, there will be specific stories and characters devoted to encouraging the listener to exercise caution and always do what the society in question deems good and just. Clans are just one of the many groups with such tropes ingrained into their culture. While usually reserved for kits and apprentices, warriors and elders will occasionally share these stories with each other for nostalgia’s sake (or during rough times where morale needs to be raised). The most popular character in such tales is Thorn. 

The exact description of this cat is vague at best and incredibly flexible - they can be a tom, a molly (which, for some reason, is a trait often paired with the name “Briar”), neither, a kit, an elder, a loner, and sometimes even a spirit instead of a being of flesh and bone. Everything from their color to their size changes from story to story. Thorn’s ambiguous appearance is actually an important factor in their popularity, as they can be bent and changed to fit the needs of the storyteller without anyone arguing about how little their rendition matches the original character. 

There are a few consistent qualities Thorn carries, however. In general, they are polite, helpful and very careful about making decisions. They often try to warn others of coming danger and usually get ignored, to the detriment of the bullheaded cats being warned. Fighting is the last option for Thorn - if it can be talked through, they will go to great lengths to prevent a battle. This peaceful nature extends even to other predators*, which is more often seen in WindClan. 

One particular point of confusion from outside scholars is the fact that Thorn does not have a warrior’s name, despite being such an important figure in their culture. What’s even stranger is that this doesn’t seem to bother Clan cats at all. Almost every single other character in their mythology is given a name comprised of a prefix and a suffix, even the older ones. The likely reason is that Thorn was created before warrior names were even a twinkle in the eyes of the cats of the First Age, and no one has ever decided on a suffix that is both easy to remember and fitting to such a malleable character. Apparently no one thought to simply call them Thornfur or Thornpelt. 

 

 

*Interestingly, even in stories where Thorn speaks with other species, it is nearly impossible to find one where a prey animal is given the ability to communicate. This is largely due to Clan cats not wanting to have to struggle with killing a potentially sapient species on a regular basis. It’s better to just pretend your prey can’t feel anything other than hunger and fear. 


	5. Mythology, III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will potentially be added onto as time goes on. 
> 
> Warning for gristly details in some of the monsters below.

### The Empty

_You’re not acting like yourself._

A demon of perversion and unimaginable cruelty. The Empty desires only to cause chaos, living out its twisted fantasies by taking over a body and preforming unmentionable acts before disappearing and leaving the victim to face punishment. There is no telling when it* will strike or who it targets - all one can do is try to ward it off with a few good-luck charms and pray for a life of peace. 

The Empty prefers to suppress the soul of a living cat, hunting down a young and healthy target and assuming control of their body in order to act out its foul desires. There is no limit to what it will do - the ecstasy of being alive again may cause it to tear apart another animal to drink in the scent of blood and meat, or to chase after a particularly attractive warrior to indulge its depravity, whether its advances are welcome or not. Much of what it fancies cannot be mentioned here. 

But it is said that the Empty was not always this way. Campground rumors speak of a cat who once was as calm and kind as any warrior could be, but who was tortured by rogues from the south. Their eyes clawed out of their head, their ears and nose shredded until nonfunctional, and even their feet broken, with toes and claws pulled out and discarded on the ground. Some stories even speak of the cat being forced to devour their own tail. 

In the end, they were left to bleed out in the streets, though stories tell that it took half a moon for the cat’s body to finally give out. The agony of their final days, compounded by a growing hatred and terror only the unfaithful dying experience, transformed the cat’s soul into a wraith. Somehow, it has avoided Horoa and his followers as it wanders the world, preferring to haunt the territories and the place in which it died. 

The Empty cannot see, hear or smell, for its injuries follow it even in death. But like all cats, it can taste the air, and this sense has been sharpened over time. It is invisible and intangible to almost everyone, which allows it to travel in a straight line after a target, through trees and water, stumbling on its bleeding paws - even crawling if it must. Its only desire is to relish in the use of its senses, and it will do anything it must to experience life again. 

 

 

*The Empty is also commonly referred to as male, but in more popular tellings the demon is referred to as an ‘it’.

 

 

 

### Wraiths

_Luthmet (literally, “mad spirit”)_

 

“You see it, then.”

“Yes, ma’am. Over there, between the trees. It’s vague, but I can see an outline.” 

“Good. Now turn your eyes away.” 

“What? Why?”

“It’s a wraith, child. We endanger ourselves by looking at it.”

“But we’re seers. Shouldn’t we do whatever we can to help them move on?” 

“That is not our duty. Horoa will see it taken care of.” 

“He’ll just hunt them down and turn them into mist!” 

“And?” 

“We can save them before that happens!” 

“Child. Listen carefully. When someone dies, their spirit leaves their body and makes the journey up into the sky to join StarClan-”

“And they only have a short time before they fade away, unless we keep them in our memories. Yes, I know this, ma’am.”

“Hush.”

“Sorry.”

“As I was saying. Most spirits are able to shed the weight of their time on earth - all the grief and anger that comes with being alive - and they melt into the collective, free of unhappiness. Some cannot. Some refuse to let go of their traumas and losses, and as a result the path to StarClan is closed to them. They cannot find their way up into the stars because they’re keeping themselves trapped down here with the thoughts of the living.”

“So they need our help!”

“Oh, so? What about criminals?” 

“What?” 

“Sometimes - most of the time, really - there’s a cat who is barred from StarClan, rather than simply lost. They’ve murdered or abused or harmed someone in a way that will never leave them until they die. StarClan wants to stay as pure as possible. Therefore, they’re stuck down here, wandering around and dirtying our territory with their foul energy.” 

“Okay, but that doesn’t mean-”

“Do you know why they don’t fade away?”

“…No.”

“Because, occasionally, a memory is so strong that it doesn’t need help from live cats to keep existing. It’s all that keeps them here, and all that keeps them going. When you can only focus on an event or an action that has kept you from joining your loved ones in StarClan, it will eventually drive you to obsession and madness.” 

“What’s your point?”

“I am trying to explain to you that, whether or not a spirit’s done an awful thing, they’re still dangerous. They may attack you or possess you or, StarClan forbid, slowly turn you insane by sharing their awful experiences with you. We cannot allow that to happen to anyone, let alone a seer.”

“So, what, don’t look at them? Don’t acknowledge them? Don’t even try to help them move on?” 

“Correct.”

“But-” 

“Horoa is giving them mercy by destroying them. They cease to exist, and so does whatever they’ve done or felt.”

“But to never see your family again, just because you’ve been hurt so badly…” 

“I know. It’s not fair. But they’re such a small portion of the wraiths that haunt us. Take comfort that the majority are truly awful beings who deserve to fade away from memory forever. Do you understand now?” 

“Yes.”

“Then I will go and speak with our ancestors. I shall see you when we wake. Until then, keep your eyes away from that wraith.” 

“…Yes, ma’am.”

 

 

 

### Her

Warriors do not remember or acknowledge criminals. This is a long-held tradition to prevent the cruel and evil from entering StarClan and tainting its collective spirit. Keeping them out of their minds and hearts also protects the living from being troubled any more than they were when the dead were alive. The ghosts of murderers wander the world for a while after their passing, chased by Horoa and his agents of justice, until they fade away like mist in the sun, nameless, alone and forgotten.

Except for one. 

Seers across the territories whisper this wraith’s story at the twilight hours, when their Clanmates cannot hear them. Though Her name has been lost to time, the memory of Her crimes sting the minds of seer apprentices as freshly as if they had happened yesterday. This wraith is an essential warning to the young and naive, a cautionary tale about what happens when even the best of them allow themselves to turn away from the stars.

In the First Age, there was a highly respected seer, a senior in Her craft and the uncontested finest of Her era. However, where She was immensely observant and intelligent, She was equally judgemental, pious and narrow-minded. She looked down upon others as being weaker than Her, giving in to their carnal urges instead of abandoning all earthly pleasures and following the starlit path to salvation. She is described as having always held Her head and nose high, looking down at others with unveiled scorn. 

But during this time, cats from all corners were visiting the territories. Loners were coming and going, settling temporarily before moving on. One of these - and no one can remember their name or description - caught Her eye.

Despite everything She had done to separate Herself from desire, the seer could not help looking after the loner with increasing interest. Her interest turned to desire, desire to lust, lust to obsession. Because She had spent so much of Her life smothering such feelings, She was not equipped to handle them. She struggled to eradicate these urges, but failed in the face of nature. She did everything in Her power to return to Her duties, even pulling out fur and preforming rituals to cleanse Her mind, but nothing worked. Worst of all, StarClan saw Her thoughts stray from Her divine tasks, and turned their backs on Her. 

When this was discovered, the seer’s mind began to unravel. In a final bid for freedom, She accused the loner of horrible crimes against Herself and demanded justice. Her reputation was enough that Her Clanmates believed Her without the need for evidence, and they chased the loner down and killed them. What became of their spirit is unknown. It can only be prayed that StarClan knew the truth. 

The seer knew too. Instead of Her mind being cleared, as She had hoped, new feelings of guilt and regret clawed at Her insides, hollowing Her out and driving Her to madness. She was plagued in Her dreams and in Her waking moments without end until at last She searched out yew berries and poisoned Herself. 

But even in death, She didn’t escape. StarClan drove Her away from their holy ranks, leaving Her alone with Her grief and spite, unable to forget Her crimes. She now wanders the territories alone, taking Her pain out on the living. Seers who fall in love or grow too close to others are cursed to suffer by Her claws until their deaths. The lying and the incompetent are haunted in their dreams by an agonized, gaunt-faced wraith. Particularly young and beautiful seers are spitefully struck with illnesses and bad luck. They remind Her too much of what She has done and what She has lost.

Some have tried to approach Her. There have been reports of seers attempting to soothe Her spirit and let her pass on into the void, calling to Her and forgiving Her for Her crimes. It never works. She either attacks the seer or flees from them. She will not be free until She forgives Herself.

It is doubtful if She ever will. 

 

 

 

### Yrrun

_(Literally, “Maggotbelly”)_

“Come here, apprentice. Your mentor tells me you’ve been staring across the border at the houses. Have you? No, no, you needn’t hang your head. I know how it is. The wind carried a scent to you, did it not? A particularly delicious, irresistible scent. It made you forget yourself for a moment. Almost made you step out of the territory.

“Yes, I know that scent. I have met its source. You must never let it find you again, my child. That is the scent of a monster.

“I see that sparkle in your eye. You think I’m joking. Well, believe me or not, if you like. I can only assure you that I mean every word that I am about to say. 

“You see, there is a creature lurking beyond these woods. Mernatha’s protection holds over our territory and forbids it from crossing into the forest. So it lumbers around the border and tries to lure us out with a sweet scent, like milk or meat, like the humans harvest. 

“No, I would not call it a beast. It is much worse than that. Are you sure you want to know? Very well.

“You would have nightmares if you saw it yourself, little one - a bloated, swollen abomination, hairless, its skin stretched to fit its weight. It could not close its mouth, because its jaw was hanging broken and useless. I remember long dog-teeth trailing down from the head and open throat. Its eyes were bulging… blind, I should think. They were completely white and nearly hanging out of its skull. 

“But the worst part… the worst part was its gut. Huge, dragging along the ground, completely bare of fur. The skin was stretched so tightly that it had burst open in some places. Raw meat…or perhaps the contents of its stomach, I couldn’t tell you. Flies dancing all around it, little maggots swarming the wounds, fighting to feast… but I doubt the thing even noticed them. It just cried for me as I ran (such a horrible wail). It tried to follow me back into the woods.

“It hungers, you see. All it wants is to eat. So it makes a scent - that lovely, tempting fragrance - to lure in kittens, and apprentices. It copies the scents from the houses to trick young cats into stepping away from the safety of their territory, just long enough to catch and eat them. No, I haven’t seen  _that_ , and I am glad. I am not so sure I would have ever slept again if I did. 

“I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s cursed to hunger forever. Perhaps this is all it can do. But that is not our trouble, my child. Our only trouble is to keep you on this side of the border, where it’s safe, until you’ve grown up enough to avoid its attention.

“Ah. Your mentor is calling. Go on, then. But heed my warning. If you smell it again, you run home, understand?” 


	6. ThunderClan

### Overview

 

**SUMMARY**

A noble, diverse Clan occupying the forest next to the Houses. Though ThunderClan’s reputation has been tarnished by blood-affiliations with house cats and loners, they are nevertheless honorable and keepers of the peace between the Clans and outsiders. Living in the south, they are the furthest away from the Mother’s Stone and the rising Eyes, which some say has made them more inclined to bend the code to benefit themselves. While they do tend to be more lenient than their neighbors, they are undoubtedly loyal to the rules and fiercely devoted to their ancestors.

 

 **APPEARANCE**  

ThunderClan’s mixed blood creates a rather varied group, but anyone with a mother from the forest will share most of their Clan’s features. These cats are the largest in the territories, with medium-length fur that thickens immensely in the winter and is shed in summer*. Despite their relatively good feeding, these cats age the fastest, particularly in the face, which grows gaunt and hardened by three or even two years of age. Comparisons may be drawn to lions, as this gauntness makes them look quite majestic, rather than feral. 

ThunderClan warriors are all muscle. Their huge size comes from their broad shoulders and powerful haunches, with sturdy legs that are a little short, but nonetheless strong. The head is large, the ears wide and occasionally tipped with fur. The closest domestic comparison would be to a Maine Coon, though certainly a bit more haggard. It’s actually entirely possible that their ancestry descends from this breed. 

Color varies quite a bit, but the majority will be tabbies or tortoiseshells of some kind. Stripes are thick and darker than the main body’s color, often resulting in tiger-ish markings. Spots are rare enough to be almost unheard of. White markings are common, generally taking up a notable portion of the underside (usually in the throat-to-front-feet area), while fully white cats are a little rarer. Warmer, brighter colors from ginger to light brown are most popular. Eye color ranges all over, usually in an “intense” shade - deeper versions of green and copper, for example, or a very stark yellow.

 

**SKILLS**

ThunderClan is quite militaristic compared to their neighbors. Apprentices are trained as much, if not more, in fighting as they are in hunting, and the sheer enthusiasm for battle means that challenging them is a very, very bad idea. The other Clans are understandably reluctant to engage them in a fight, but they will grudgingly admit that ThunderClan’s reputation as a gang that eats the bones of loners and kittypets has prevented a significant amount of trouble for everyone else.

Of course, they do not just use their muscles to fight. Being the Clan of the forest, ThunderClan spends a lot of time scaling trees to rob birds’ nests and get a quick view of the border or the sky for the coming weather. While they are not as agile as their neighbors, they have no trouble scaling high ledges or - even more impressively - coming back down. Their claws are the sharpest in the territories for more than one reason. 

 

 

*RiverClan warriors, who hold the lowest opinion of ThunderClan, often remark that the bigheaded louts will leave fur on their borders instead of spraying. This is actually true, but not nearly as common as RiverClan claims, and only done on the house side of the territory to frighten house cats away. The fur is generally used to line the nests in the nursery and elder’s den. 

 

 

 

### Territory

 

_For visuals, please consult[this](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.silverpelt.co.uk%2FImages%2Fenlarge%2Fforestterritory.png%3Fckattempt%3D1&t=ZDljNTMyYzhlOTg4ODE0M2IzMTllMWVlMDEzMGFmZTI3YjdkMDcxMixlVEtUMXBpMQ%3D%3D) map. _

What remains of the forest is inhabited by the most powerful Clan in the territories. Thanks to the borders being marked by the end of the treelines, ThunderClan has the smallest patch of land to hunt in, which means the cats often voyage out to neutral grounds to hunt, especially during the cold seasons. House cats and loners are commonly seen at the end of the fences, though they aren’t any more welcome into the forest than a human or dog. 

 

**CAMP**

ThunderClan resides in a small clearing created by a jagged circle of felled trees and ancient oaks. The clearing is surrounded by soft sand and foliage, lowered into a gully that can be difficult to spot from above thanks to the undergrowth. What remains of the largest tree is a stump which the leader rests on when in a meeting with the rest of the Clan. 

The ranks here are carefully divided - queens and kits sleep within a burrow underneath the largest oak tree; apprentices reside in a hollowed-out bush while warriors rest within a larger pair of bushes that can fit roughly a dozen ThunderClan adults; elders are in the remains of a fallen log just wide enough to contain five cats; the seer sleeps behind the stump in ferns; and the leader and deputy rest near each other just outside of the perimeter of camp, in a nearly-impenetrable tangle of gorse. 

 

**NOTABLE LANDMARKS**

_The Sycamore -_  Also called the Great Sycamore, or “that one really tall tree” by outsiders. It’s believed that ThunderClan’s first leader was buried here, which caused the trees at the heart of the forest to grow stronger and taller than any other in the territories. Only the greatest warriors and leaders are buried here, and apprentices actually refuse to climb it out of respect. 

 _Sandy Hollow_ \- A low, sandy bit of ground where a small pond may once have been. This is a great place for apprentices to train, thanks to the wide space and exposure to the moon. A small ditch connected to it runs close to the river, but no water has entered the ditch in generations. It’s suggested by RiverClan that ThunderClan angered Suriin and had their water taken away as punishment. 

 _Snake-rocks_  - On a high mound, a cluster of rocks have been piled on top of each other, making crevices and crannies that are perfect for snakes. Cats only hunt here if prey is running low, since snakes are difficult to catch and more than likely to cause someone’s death. Apprentices are forbidden from coming here without an adult. 

 

 

 

### Notable Members

 

 **Brawn-**  The first leader and founder of ThunderClan. 

 **Ember(?)-**  ThunderClan’s first deputy and the designer of the apprentice training system. Considered ThunderClan’s most famous and best deputy to ever exist. It is unknown if she made it to leadership. More information can be found on her [here.](http://warriorsredux.tumblr.com/post/169123190991/this-lovely-persons-donated-to-me-twice-so-to) 

 **Sycamore-**  The cat who discovered how plants eat bodies and suggested the body disposal system ThunderClan uses today - that is, burial - in order to feed the forest. He is said to have been a quiet, shy sort who spent a lot of time watching the plants grow (quite literally, he would stare at a blade of grass for a whole day if allowed). It’s believed that he had some social problems, since much of what he said made little sense to the cats of his time and he was genuinely frightened when addressed. 

 **Owlstar-**  A popular leader who specialized in more evasive and acrobatic-like fighting styles. Until their time, ThunderClan was more gladiatorial in their teaching methods when it came to battle, and the slighter cats were left struggling to pin down their opponents. Owlstar introduced the idea that one could be a champion fighter without having to be a brute, and this shaped how ThunderClan taught their young ones to battle. 

 **Redstar-**  With one of the longest lifespans in the clans (years past counting for the cats), Redstar is famous for having kept the Sunning-rocks his entire life and being a particularly gallant fighter, especially when it came to facing RiverClan. Unfortunately, his legacy is slightly tarnished by his romantic lifestyle - he had no less than three mates that are currently known - and had kittens with all of them. It is suspected that he also had flings with loners and kittypets, but this is yet to be confirmed. 

 

 

 

### Common Behavior

 

**VALUES**

ThunderClan places a great deal of value on a cat’s individual prowess - those that have the most “power” are considered the pinnacle of warriorhood. Strength is a big deal in the forest, whether it’s emotional, physical or mental. The heroes in their stories are usually larger cats with a “hero’s personality” or a fantastic sense of leadership. Cats with more passive personalities tend to have a difficult time here or suffer from inferiority complexes. 

In conjunction with their Spartan philosophies, ThunderClan greatly favors their senior warriors. An aged cat is a wise one, and (according to the mollies) a more attractive one as well. These cats tend to be parents later in their lives, past what the other Clans would consider the prime kitting age. This contributes to the notoriously fast aging of ThunderClan apprentices.

 

**HABITS**

Speaking with a ThunderClan cat is sort of like speaking with military personnel. These cats are direct, dry, entirely too serious, and prone to giving commands or reports rather than engaging in social niceties. Using a soft or kind tone requires a great deal of effort for even queens. As such, their vernacular is straight-forward, if a little caustic. ThunderClan can be said to have no particular accent, or at least the weakest one out of the four Clans. 

Everything is regulated - patrols, training, hunting, and even how to spend your spare time. As such, these cats are more inclined to reference time and defer to their superiors’ orders and ideas. Being forced to make their own decisions without the input of anyone who knows what they’re doing will quickly throw them out of whack. There’s a notable lack of skill for improvisation. 

In regards to prefixes, ThunderClan prefers to name for something strong, whether that’s in reference to a powerful being (Lion-, Badger-) or whatever stands out the most on the cat in question (Red-, Spotted-). Solid and large objects such as trees and rocks are also popular, as well as particularly notable plants (poisonous ones such as Lily- or Ivy- or brightly colored ones like Poppy-). This is subject to a good deal of teasing from other Clans (that is, RiverClan). 

 

**CHARACTERISTICS**

Humor does not come easily to ThunderClan cats. The most one can wring out of the average warrior is flat sarcasm, which is more often weaponized for discipline or scolding, rather than used for the sake of a joke. Apprentices with influences from the other Clans may attempt some banter with their Clanmates, but they grow out of it after so many failures. 

ThunderClan’s value of the individual and the power that comes with it means that they are rarely inclined to get involved with the business of other Clans. Their reasoning more or less boils down to “that’s not our problem”, which they come under fire for quite a bit. ThunderClan can be convinced to lend their strength in a fight, but they expect a reward of some kind for going out of their way to help others. 

 

 

 

### Blood and Outsiders

 

ThunderClan has a bit of a reputation when it comes to the “dilution” of their bloodlines. It’s not exactly rare for a Clan cat to have some loner in their genetics - this practice is what saves the Clans from generations of incest and possible birth defects - but ThunderClan in particular is notorious for their fraternization with outsiders. 

It is both strange and oddly expected for them to have such a reputation. After all, they are closest to the Houses, which have a great deal of unaltered kittypets and loners wandering around looking for a good time. Despite this, ThunderClan believes wholeheartedly in their superiority to their neighbors and often speak of them with a sneer. It’s suspected that this attitude is a vain attempt to shield themselves from being known as the minglers with the lower castes of felines. They still breed with them, of course, just (supposedly) in secret.

However, many historians find this bit of their culture a little confusing. ShadowClan regularly visits the town, and yet they are more likely to bring in a loner to their Clan than breed with them. WindClan, despite having a very lax attitude when it comes to other animals, don’t receive outsiders very warmly. Even RiverClan, as friendly and suspiciously youthful in the face as they are, has less to do with kittypets than ThunderClan. Why, then, are the Spartans of the Clans so willing to breed with the softest and least organized groups of cats around? 

This doesn’t correlate with their history, either. Joining the First Age ThunderClan was strictly for the toughest and strongest of the communities. RiverClan was scorned for being “weak” and “soft”, despite being perhaps the boldest of the Clans for their ingenuity when it came to the water. 

Sometime in the late First Age, when kittypets started showing up, something changed. Perhaps the Clan gene pool was growing unstable with the focus on purity, and a few queens decided to take matters into their own paws. At one point or another, it became ThunderClan’s best and worst kept secret that all of the mollies were in on. The toms, then and now, simply looked the other way and kept their mouths shut. 

Curiously, this does not affect the physical appearance of ThunderClan’s youth, except perhaps in color. All apprentices grow to have the hardened, lion-like faces of their Clanmates, and almost all of them have the long, fluffy fur that sticks year-round. It’s hard to prove that a queen has an outsider for the father of her litter, simply because something is preventing her babies from looking like their dad. Some suspect StarClan is at work here, but no seer has gotten a straight answer on that. 


	7. ShadowClan

### Overview

 

**SUMMARY**

A sorrowful, pragmatic Clan taking residence in the marshes near the Rotten Place. Even among their unique neighbors, ShadowClan is alienated by their unusual living style and vernacular. Thought to be cursed, they live in the east, holding the largest yet most barren square of territory and separated from the other Clans by the road. Unlike their rivals in WindClan, there is a genuine air of mystery to these shrunken cats thanks to their distance and bizarre behavior. Most rumors in the territories center around them. 

 

**APPEARANCE**

ShadowClan is, without a doubt, home to the smallest cats in the territories. Even when fully healthy, the average warrior tends to look shrunken and sickly, with big eyes, bigger ears, and thin, rat-like tails. The large eyes are sensitive and perfect for night work, and tend to be always dilated. The ears, likewise, catch even the slightest hint of sound - it is nearly impossible to sneak up on a ShadowClan cat. 

Their thin bodies are incredibly flexible and surprisingly durable. Even for cats, they can pull some very impressive physical stunts, though it tends to look rather disturbing with all their bones sticking out of their fur. As a side note, no one in recent history has ever met a ShadowClan warrior who didn’t have at least one rib showing. They bear the look of starving kittens, which often works in their favor, as much of their food comes from humans. 

On the whole, ShadowClan cats are darkly colored, whether russet, brown, grey, or just plain black, with [melanistic cats](http://warriorsredux.tumblr.com/post/146503441975/apologies-to-my-followers-for-spamming-this-blog) being a common occurrence. Stripes and spots are common, but are usually faint and show up in various sizes. White markings are extremely rare and minute, almost always appearing on the feet, but the underside of the cat will sometimes be slightly paler than the rest of the body. The eyes can be any color, as long as it’s pale. It is said that their best seers always have blue eyes, no matter the color of their fur. This has never been confirmed or denied. 

 

**SKILLS**

ShadowClan is the poster child for deceiving appearances. Beneath their tiny frames lies an incredibly durable digestive system which absorbs substances that any other cat would die eating. Generations of feeding off of human garbage has given ShadowClan a penchant for scarfing down even rotten food as if it were fresh without suffering any effects. Their bodies contain nutrients so efficiently that even an apprentice can go several days without eating if the need arises. However, their unhealthy food sources have led to them being more susceptible to diseases and infections from wounds. 

ShadowClan prides itself on having perfected the art of stealth. Their flexible bodies and light weight come from raiding human houses and dumps for food without being noticed. As such, these cats can jump, crawl, and run without making a sound or being noticed, which serves them well during hunts. They’re stealthier and, according to some, swifter than WindClan, with honed instincts and fine motor control that lets them stop on a dime and start sprinting the other way in perfect silence. 

Their small size does carry some disadvantages, especially in the heat of battle. Some ThunderClan cats in particular have compared a battle with ShadowClan to fighting a group of young but determined apprentices. This is only in reference to their size, of course - ShadowClan is notorious for their pragmatic fighting style and guerrilla warfare tactics. They are vicious and unapologetic, never taking on an enemy alone and always attacking the most sensitive areas. Their speed and agility makes them hard to pin down, and they quite literally go for the throat. Though it’s never their intention, most deaths in battle come from an overeager ShadowClan cat. 

 

 

 

### Territory

 

_For visuals, ple_ _ase consult[th](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.silverpelt.co.uk%2FImages%2Fenlarge%2Fforestterritory.png%3Fckattempt%3D1&t=ZTNjOTA1NWYzOTZkZDg2YWJiZjA0ODE4ZjllYjQ0NzdlNTE2MTJiNixlVEtUMXBpMQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AOEzJgRHeiHlL4GWPQRRIqA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwarriorsredux.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F147757065535%2Fshadowclan-territory&m=1)[i](http://www.silverpelt.co.uk/Images/enlarge/forestterritory.png?ckattempt=1)[s](http://www.silverpelt.co.uk/Images/enlarge/forestterritory.png?ckattempt=1) map. Note that the labels on the maps do not necessarily correlate with the contents of this post._

Separated from their neighbors by the road, ShadowClan has the largest spread of territory thanks to a lack of competition and their scavenging habits. The marshes are not connected to any neutral grounds, but in half a day’s travel southward the marsh dries up and becomes spotted with human buildings. Heading further east, the marsh eventually turns into an empty lot of dry land, which is rarely visited due to its lack of prey. 

 

**CAMP**

ShadowClan makes its home in a large patch of half-dead bushes and shrubs that sit upon a slightly raised mound out of the more watery parts of the marsh. While it looks perfectly uninhabitable to a human, ShadowClan cats are small and lithe and feel right at home among the prickly plants. 

The nursery is the only truly separated part of the camp that could be considered a den - a whorl of grass and the greenest branches of the shrubs form a neat little hole big enough to house a small family of adults. The flowers that bloom there every year are pungent and block out the smell of kittens from the outside world. 

The rest of the cats, with the exception of the seer, spread themselves out wherever they please. Different ranks tend to nest together, but there is no designated area for anyone to go to. The seer sleeps outside or just within the camp border in the summer. In the winter, an impressive catpile is made in the center of camp, with the seer in the eye and everyone else surrounding them, with the higher rankings being closer to the middle.

 

**NOTABLE LANDMARKS**

_The Rotten Place_  - also called the Carrion, or Carrion Place. A human dumpsite that ShadowClan frequents for meals. Crows and rats can be found here, as well as the remains of human food. Named for its stink, which isn’t exceptionally close to rotting meat, but the Clans have an association of remarkably bad smells with carrion, so the name has stuck.

 _The Burnt Sycamore_  - an old, dead tree that was struck by lightning years ago. A common place for apprentices to train, whether it be climbing its petrified bark or stalking around its base. For some reason, crows are often seen here, leading ShadowClan to believe that Thlainra watches over ShadowClan from the tree. Seers may even sleep in the small hole in the tree and pray for Thlainra to send them a dream of guidance. 

 _The Tunnel_  - also called the Waterway. A metal tunnel created by humans to keep the road from flooding, ShadowClan uses it to reach Gatherings without walking over the road. While not a closely-guarded secret, it remains relatively unknown to most outside cats, and is patrolled carefully to ensure that no one unwelcome tries to sneak into the marshes. 

 

 

 

### Notable Members[  
](http://warriorsredux.tumblr.com/post/165882281750/shadowclan-notable-members)

 

 **Mallow-**  The first seer of the territories. She was known for her odd predictions and dreams of the future, which eventually caught on in the other Clans. The tradition of seers not hunting or fighting for themselves came from her, as she was a very poor hunter and had no interest in battles. More information can be found on her [here.](http://warriorsredux.tumblr.com/post/152865420500/oh-gosh-so-many-questions-about-seers-sorry) 

 **Bindigger-**  Famously, intensely curious about the lives of humans. Though certain details about them have vanished over time, including their true name, ShadowClan owes this cat their lives by virtue of being the one to open up the town as a hunting ground thanks to extended, thorough explorations. It is believed that Bindigger (if that was indeed their real name) set the standard for what is now considered the ideal ShadowClan look - lithe, thin and athletic, with the admittedly charming bat-like ears. 

 **Lightthroat-**  A seer particularly known for having a genius-level intellect and incredibly good fortune that brought the Clan seasons of prosperity for as long as he lived. Older cats often whisper good luck charms to him when hunting, tracking, or just venturing through town to find sustenance. 

 **The Bright-Eyed-**  While the original name and appearance of this cat is regularly changed to suit the Clans’ personal tastes, it is generally agreed that the one cat brave enough to stand up to Thlainra, attempt to trick her, and even come back to life came from ShadowClan. This is the one sort-of-trickster that ShadowClan celebrates, as everything he did was for the sake of his Clanmates and loved ones, something the highly dedicated marsh cats can appreciate.

 

 

 

### Common Behavior

 

**VALUES**

ShadowClan highly praises devotion of any kind - devotion to a task, one’s family, their faith, or even to just one particular cat. Dedication is a welcome trait in the territories, but in the marshes, a cat’s worth is judged on their focus and drive. It is said that ShadowClan is more tightly bonded than the rest of the Clans due to valuing loyalty to the degree that they do. 

Alongside that, this Clan is notorious for their devout religiousness. A barren territory and history of hardships have turned them to constantly speak of the gods above, and pray to StarClan and the Three in search of even a sliver of hope. ShadowClan is used to its suffering, but that doesn’t mean it will let its members fall to despair just because they haven’t eaten in three days.  

 

**HABITS**

The cats of the marsh, for the most part, speak quickly and politely, even if they can be long winded. They’re used to negotiating with strangers in town, and as such can deal out a lightning-fast monologue that settles any tension in the air before someone has the chance to growl. They don’t have much of an accent, as they’re careful to enunciate all their words clearly to prevent a misreading of intentions. Somehow, they are the only Clan that can talk fast and be heard perfectly.

As a group of zealots, these cats are quick to wave something off as being done “by the will of StarClan”. Their automatic response to an unusual situation is to turn to one of the Three or their ancestors for an explanation. Many of their common phrases have something related to either of these parties as a result. 

The popular group of prefixes is a mixed bag. ShadowClan likes weather and time-related names (Storm-, Blizzard-, Morning-, Night-), but aren’t picky about insect and animal names (at least those relative to their location, like Frog-, Fly-, or Mosquito-). Size-related prefixes are almost never used, since it’s believed to be rude to point out whether someone is small or big, though prefixes implying both color and size are usually given a pass. 

 

**CHARACTERISTICS**

ShadowClan cats are workers through and through. Their consistent lack of prey means that they need to be up and about at all times to find even the smallest morsel. They’re used to long treks in and out of the town nearby, whether empty-jawed or carting a slab of mystery meat back home. When rarely well-fed and out of things to do, one may turn to cleaning themselves obsessively or taking a long walk around the territory, just for something to do.

ShadowClan’s great failing is its gullibility. As they always talk honestly, they are terrible at lying and assume that everyone else is the same. Along with this, they are obedient and submissive, under the belief that anything they’re told to do must be the right thing. It’s very easy for a manipulative leader to bewitch their Clan into committing terrible acts just using a clever turn of phrase. 

 

 

 

### Seers and Wardens

 

Being part of the most heavily religious Clan in the territories, there is an intense amount of pressure on seers to preform their duties perfectly. What’s considered prodigious in the other Clans is merely standard in ShadowClan. A seer cannot afford to slip up even once without risking the doom of their Clanmates and, potentially, the wrath of their ancestors. Every leaf, wayward insect, or crooked twig must be examined and re-examined over and over again to the point that it would drive a normal cat to complete insanity. 

A small wonder, then, that ShadowClan seers tend to live short lives.

Even with the reputation for being a rank full of withdrawn, somewhat-loopy daydreamers, and even among their shrunken, wide-eyed Clanmates, the seers of the marsh stand out in a crowd. Their very aura makes outsiders wary of them, despite being no physical threat. The weight and power of StarClan’s eyes upon their backs overwhelms their own life-energy - neighboring Clan cats describe it as “like standing next to an invisible fire”. Some warriors have actually refused to go near one of these seers, unable to explain why but showing clear signs of stress and fear when forced to approach. 

This powerful aura does not come without its consequences. Common ailments and side-effects of this position include a constantly drifting mind, stumbling or dragging feet, patches of skin where fur has been over-groomed or pulled out, anxiety, paranoia, night terrors, nightmares, hallucinations, absentmindedness, starvation, constant sickness, sped-up aging, and early death. Because of this, not even the best seers in other Clans would be willing to take up the position in ShadowClan.

However, over the Ages, an entirely unique phenomenon has developed around the rank of seer. The actual name for it varies per generation, but historians commonly refer to it as “The Warden Effect”. 

Around the time a seer apprentice is ready to receive their name, a normal-rank cat - whether it be an apprentice, warrior or even an elder - will start to gravitate towards them. They may start lingering around the seer, accompanying them on walks, sitting down for a conversation, or bringing them food exactly when they need it. This cat becomes noticeably more protective of the seer, keeping a close eye on them and defending them to the death, even against a mad dog. Over the course of a month or two, the cat becomes the new seer’s caretaker, ensuring that they do not come apart from the stress of their position and cheering them up with stories and jokes after a nightmare.

There is no straightforward pattern to the type of cat who takes on this role, and no discussion is given beforehand. In some cases, cats who rarely speak or don’t even like the seer will suddenly develop these behaviors. There are no instances of this relationship turning romantic (though doubtlessly some may have been fond of their charge), and very rarely are the two related. Though the cats are on equal footing, the warden may start referring to the seer as their master, giving them honorifics like “sir” or “miss”*. 

The most widely accepted theory is that the Warden Effect is StarClan’s way of thanking their seer for their work. Gifting them with a caretaker ensures that their earthen eyes stay on to serve their Clan as long as possible. While ShadowClan seers sadly don’t live very long anyways, their lives on earth are at least as safe and comfortable as they can be. 

 

 

* _Oun_  and  _Ai_ , respectively.  _Prra_  is “master/the one I serve and take care of”. 


End file.
